Accenture buys procurement systems specialist for $375m

Accenture is acquiring procurement business process systems company Procurian for $375 million.

Accenture said the acquisition will enhance its capabilities in procurement business process outsourcing (BPO) across a range of industries, including consumer goods, high-tech and financial services.

Mike Salvino, Accenture group chief executive for BPO, said, “The addition of Procurian’s deep strategic sourcing category expertise, advanced analytics capabilities and delivery resources will complement and scale our sourcing and procurement business services.”

Procurian has delivery locations in the US, India, the UK, the Czech Republic, China and Brazil. It is a subsidiary of ICG Group and its clients include Zurich, Harley Davidson and Kimberley Clark.

Procurian’s has around 780 staff, with Accenture saying it expected them to transfer over. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2013.

John O’Brien, an analyst at TechMarketView, said of the deal, “Procurian actually set up a sales and marketing operation in London last year to target the UK and European market. Being part of Accenture will give it significantly more scope.”

He said, “Procurian has a very interesting piece of technology called SavingsLink, which gives customers visibility into the procurement savings they are achieving on a real-time basis. This is the sort of transparency clients want.”